■’  U  n  e. 


TWoo 

Y(1, 


so.  - 


ADDRESS 

OF 

PRESIDENT  COOLIDGE 

BEFORE 

THE  NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  THE 
BOY  SCOUTS  OF  AMERICA 


Washington,  D.  C. 
May  1,  1926 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1926 


ADDRESS 


Members  of  the  National  Council  of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America: 

The  strength  and  hope  of  civilization  lies  in  its  power  to  adapt 
itself  to  changing  circumstances.  Development  and  character  are 
not  passive  accomplishments.  They  can  be  secured  only  through 
action.  The  strengthening  of  the  physical  body,  the  sharpening  of 
the  senses,  the  quickening  of  the  intellect,  are  all  the  result  of  that 
mighty  effort  which  we  call  the  struggle  for  existence.  Down 
through  the  ages  it  was  carried  on  for  the  most  part  in  the  open, 
out  in  the  fields,  along  the  streams,  and  over  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
It  was  there  that  mankind  met  the  great  struggle  which  has  been 
waged  with  the  forces  of  nature.  We  are  what  that  struggle  has 
made  us.  When  the  race  ceases  to  be  engaged  in  that  great  strength¬ 
giving  effort  the  race  will  not  be  what  it  is  now — it  will  change 
to  something  else.  These  age-old  activities  or  their  equivalent  are 
vital  to  a  continuation  of  human  development.  They  are  invaluable 
in  the  growth  and  training  of  youth. 

Towns  and  cities  and  industrial  life  are  very  recent  and  modern 
acquirements.  Such  an  environment  did  not  contribute  to  the  mak¬ 
ing  of  the  race,  nor  was  it  bred  in  the  lap  of  present-day  luxury. 
It  was  born  of  adversity  and  nurtured  by  necessity.  Though  the 
environment  has  greatly  changed,  human  nature  has  not  changed. 
If  the  same  natural  life  in  the  open  requiring  something  of  the 
same  struggle,  surrounded  by  the  same  elements  of  adversity  and 
necessity,  is  gradually  passing  away  in  the  experience  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  people ;  if  the  old  struggle  with  nature  no  longer  goes  on ; 
if  the  usual  environment  has  been  very  largely  changed,  it  becomes 
exceedingly  necessary  that  an  artificial  environment  be  created  to 
supply  the  necessary  process  for  a  continuation  of  the  development 
and  character  of  the  race.  The  cinder  track  must  be  substituted 
for  the  chase. 

Art  therefore  has  been  brought  in  to  take  the  place  of  nature. 
One  of  the  great  efforts  in  that  direction  is  represented  by  the  Boy 
Scout  movement.  It  was  founded  in  the  United  States  in  1910.  In 
September  of  that  year  the  organization  was  given  a  great  impetus 
by  the  visit  of  the  man  whom  we  are  delighted  to  honor  this  evening, 
Sir  Robert  Baden-Powell.  This  distinguished  British  general  is  now 
known  all  over  the  world  as  the  originator  of  this  idea.  That  it  has 
been  introduced  into  almost  every  civilized  country  must  be  to  him  a 
constant  source  of  great  gratification.  The  first  annual  meeting  was 
held  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House  in  February,  1911,  when 
President  Taft  made  an  address,  and  each  of  his  successors  has 
been  pleased  to  serve  as  the  honorary  president  of  the  association. 
It  has  been  dignified  by  a  Federal  charter  granted  by  the  Congress 

95055—26  m 


2 


to  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America  in  1916,  and  thereby  ranks  in  the 
popular  mind  with  the  only  two  other  organizations  which  have 
been  similarly  honored,  the  Red  Cross  and  the  American  Legion. 

The  Boy  Scouts  have  been  fortunate  in  enlisting  the  interest  of 
prominent  men  of  our  country  to  serve  as  the  active  head  of  the 
organization.  For  the  current  year  that  position  was  held  by  no 
less  a  figure  than  the  late  James  J.  Storrow.  His  untimely  taking 
off  was  a  sad  experience  to  all  of  us  who  knew  him.  I  cherished 
him  personally  as  a  friend.  I  admired  him  for  the  broad  public 
spirit  that  he  always  exhibited.  Amid  all  the  varied  and  exacting 
activities  as  one  of  our  foremost  business  men,  he  yet  found  time 
to  devote  his  thought  and  energy  and  personal  attention  to  the 
advancement  of  this  movement.  His  memory  will  constantly  bring 
to  us  all  that  sentiment  which  he  uttered  in  the  New  Year  message 
that  he  gave  to  the  scouts,  in  expressing  the  hope  that  it  might  bring 
“  A  more  vivid  realization  that  it  is  the  spirit  and  the  spiritual 
sides  of  life  that  count.” 

The  more  I  have  studied  this  movement,  its  inception,  purposes, 
organization,  and  principles,  the  more  I  have  been  impressed.  Not 
only  is  it  based  on  the  fundamental  rules  of  right  thinking  and  act¬ 
ing  but  it  seems  to  embrace  in  its  code  almost  every  virtue  needed 
in  the  personal  and  social  life  of  mankind.  It  is  a  wonderful  instru¬ 
ment  for  good.  It  is  an  inspiration  to  you  whose  duty  and  privilege 
it  is  to  widen  its  horizon  and  extend  its  influence.  If  every  boy  in 
the  United  States  between  the  ages  of  12  and  17  could  be  placed 
under  the  wholesome  influences  of  the  scout  program  and  should 
live  up  to  the  scout  oath  and  rules,  we  would  hear  fewer  pessimistic 
words  as  to  the  future  of  our  Nation. 

The  boy  on  becoming  a  scout  binds  himself  on  his  honor  to  do  his 
best,  as  the  oath  reads : 

“  1.  To  do  my  duty  to  God  and  my  country,  and  to  obey  the  scout 
law. 

“  2.  To  help  other  people  at  all  times. 

“  3.  To  keep,  myself  physically  strong,  mentally  awake,  and  mor¬ 
ally  straight.” 

The  12  articles  in  these  scout  laws  are  not  prohibitions,  but  obli¬ 
gations;  affirmative  rules  of  conduct.  Members  must  promise  to  be 
trustworthy,  loyal,  helpful,  friendly,  courteous,  kind,  obedient,  cheer¬ 
ful,  thrifty,  brave,  clean,  and  reverent.  How  comprehensive  this  list ! 
What  a  formula  for  developing  moral  and  spiritual  character ! 
What  an  opportunity  for  splendid  service  in  working  to  strengthen 
their  observance  by  all  scouts  and  to  extend  their  influence  to  all  boys 
eligible  for  membership !  It  would  be  a  perfect  world  if  everyone 
exemplified  these  virtues  in  daily  life. 

Acting  under  these  principles,  remarkable  progress  has  been  made. 
Since  1910,  3,000,000  boys  in  the  United  States  have  been  scouts — 
one  out  of  every  seven  eligible.  Who  can  estimate  the  physical, 
mental,  and  spiritual  force  that  would  have  been  added  to  our 
national  life  during  this  period  if  the  other  six  also  had  been 
scouts  ? 

On  January  1,  1926,  there  was  an  enrollment  of  nearly  600,000 
boys,  directed  by  165,000  volunteer  leaders  and  divided  among  23,000 
troops.  Such  is  the  field  that  has  been  cultivated.  The  great  need 


3 


now  is  for  more  leaders,  inspired  for  service  and  properly  equipped 
to  carry  out  the  program.  It  is  estimated  that  1,000,000  additional 
boys  could  be  enrolled  immediately  if  adequate  leadership  could  be 
provided.  We  can  not  do  too  much  honor  to  the  500,000  men  who 
in  the  past  16  years  have  given  freely  of  their  time  and  energy  as 
scout  masters  and  assistant  scout  masters.  Such  service  is  service 
to  God  and  to  country.  The  efforts  to  get  more  devoted  volunteers 
and  to  find  and  train  those  fitted  and  willing  to  make  this  their  life 
work  is  worthy  of  the  most  complete  success. 

Because  the  principles  of  this  movement  are  affirmative,  I  believe 
they  are  sound.  The  boy  may  not  be  merely  passive  in  his  allegiance 
to  righteousness.  He  must  be  an  active  force  in  his  home,  his  church, 
and  his  community.  Too  few  people  have  a  clear  realization  of  the 
real  purposes  of  the  Boy  Scouts.  In  the  popular  mind  the  program 
is  arranged  for  play,  for  recreation,  is  designed  solely  to  utilize  the 
spare  time  of  the  boy  in  such  a  way  that  he  may  develop  physically 
while  engaged  in  pleasurable  pursuits.  This  is  but  a  faint  concep¬ 
tion,  one  almost  wholly  misleading.  The  program  is  a  means  to  an 
end.  Its  fundamental  object  is  to  use  modern  environment  in  char¬ 
acter  building  and  training  for  citizenship. 

Character  is  what  a  person  is;  it  represents  the  aggregate  of  dis¬ 
tinctive  mental  and  moral  qualities  belonging  to  an  individual  or  a 
race.  Good  character  means  a  mental  and  moral  fiber  of  high  order, 
one  which  may  be  woven  into  the  fabric  of  the  community  and  State, 
going  to  make  a  great  nation — great  in  the  broadest  meaning  of  that 
word. 

The  organization  of  the  scouts  is  particularly  suitable  for  a  repre¬ 
sentative  democracy  such  as  ours,  where  our  institutions  rest  on  the 
theory  of  self-government  and  public  functions  are  exercised  through 
delegated  authority.  The  boys  are  taught  to  practice  the  basic  vir¬ 
tues  and  principles  of  right  living  and  to  act  for  themselves  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  such  virtues  and  principles.  They  learn  self-direction 
and  self-control. 

The  organization  is  not  intended  to  take  the  place  of  the  home  or 
religion,  but  to  supplement  and  cooperate  with  those  important 
factors  in  our  national  life.  We  hear  much  talk  of  the  decline  in 
the  influence  of  religion,  of  the  loosening  of  the  home  ties,  of  the 
lack  of  discipline — all  tending  to  break  down  reverence  and  respect 
for  the  laws  of  God  and  of  man.  Such  thought  as  I  have  been  able 
to  give  to  the  subject  and  such  observations  as  have  come  within  my 
experience  have  convinced  me  that  there  is  no  substitute  for  the 
influences  of  the  home  and  of  religion.  These  take  hold  of  the  inner¬ 
most  nature  of  the  individual  and  play  a  very  dominant  part  in  the 
formation  of  personality  and  character.  This  most  necessary  and 
most  valuable  service  has  to  be  performed  by  the  parents,  or  it  is  not 
performed  at  all.  It  is  the  root  of  the  family  life.  Nothing  else 
can  ever  take  its  place.  These  duties  can  be  performed  by  foster  par¬ 
ents  with  partial  success,  but  an}^  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment  to  function  in  these  directions  breaks  down  almost  entirely.  The 
Boy  Scout  movement  can  never  be  a  success  as  a  substitute  but  only 
as  an  ally  of  strict  parental  control  and  family  life  under  religious 
influences.  Parents  can  not  shift  their  responsibility.  If  they  fail 
to  exercise  proper  control,  nobody  else  can  do  it  for  them. 


4 


The  last  item  in  the  scout  “  duodecalogue  ”  is  impressive.  It 
declares  that  a  scout  shall  be  reverent.  “  He  is  reverent  toward 
God,”  the  paragraph  reads.  “  He  is  faithful  in  his  religious  duty — - 
respects  the  convictions  of  others  in  matters  of  custom  and  religion.” 
In  the  past  I  have  declared  my  conviction  that  our  Government  rests 
upon  religion ;  that  religion  is  the  source  from  which  we  derive  our 
reverence  for  truth  and  justice,  for  equality  and  liberty,  and  for  the 
rights  of  mankind.  So  wisely  and  liberally  is  the  Boy  Scout  move¬ 
ment  designed  that  the  various  religious  denominations  have  found 
it  a  most  helpful  agency  in  arousing  and  maintaining  interest  in  the 
work  of  their  various  societies.  This  has  helped  to  emphasize  in 
the  minds  of  youth  the  importance  of  teaching  our  boys  to  respect 
the  religious  opinions  and  social  customs  of  others. 

The  scout  theory  takes  the  boy  at  an  age  when  he  is  apt  to  get 
ensnared  in  the  complexities  and  false  values  of  our  latter-day  life, 
and  it  turns  his  attention  toward  the  simple,  the  natural,  the  genuine. 
It  provides  a  program  for  the  utilization  of  his  spare  time  outside 
his  home  and  school  and  church  duties.  While  ofttimes  recreational, 
it  is  in  the  best  sense  constructive.  It  aims  to  give  a  useful  outlet 
for  the  abundant  energies  of  the  boy,  to  have  valuable  knowledge 
follow  innate  curiosity,  to  develop  skill  and  self-reliance — the  power 
to  bring  things  to  pass — by  teaching  one  how  to  use  both  the  hand 
and  the  head.  In  the  city-bred  boy  is  developed  love  for  the  country, 
a  realization  of  what  nature  means,  of  its  power  to  heal  the  wounds 
and  to  soothe  the  frayed  nerves  incident  to  modern  civilization.  He 
learns  that  in  the  woods  and  on  the  hillside,  on  the  plain,  and  by  the 
stream,  he  has  a  chance  to  think  upon  the  eternal  verities,  to  get  a 
clarity  of  vision — a  chance  which  the  confusion  and  speed  of  city 
life  too  often  renders  difficult  if  not  impossible  of  attainment.  There 
is  a  very  real  value  in  implanting  this  idea  in  our  boys.  When  they 
take  up  the  burdens  of  manhood  they  may  be  led  to  return  to  the 
simple  life  for  periods  of  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  refresh¬ 
ment  and  r ein vigor ation. 

Scouting  very  definitely  teaches  that  rewards  come  only  after 
achievement  through  personal  effort  and  self-discipline.  The  boy 
enters  as  a  tenderfoot.  As  he  develops  he  becomes  a  second-class 
scout  and  then  a  first-class  scout.  Still  there  is  before  him  the 
opportunity,  in  accordance  with  ability  and  hard  work,  to  advance 
and  get  merit  badges  for  proficiency  in  some  70  subjects  pertaining 
to  the  arts,  trades,  and  sciences.  It  is  interesting  to  learn  that  in 
the  year  1925,  195,000  merit  badges  were  awarded  as  compared  with 
140,000  in  1924.  Twenty-one  such  awards  make  the  boy  an  “  eagle 
scout,”  the  highest  rank.  Not  only  does  one  learn  to  do  things,  but 
in  many  instances  he  learns  what  he  can  do  best.  He  is  guided 
to  his  life  work.  Vocational  experts  will  tell  you  in  dollars  and 
cents  what  this  means  to  society  where  so  often  much  valuable  time 
and  effort  is  wasted  by  the  young  before  they  have  tested,  proven, 
and  trained  their  individual  powers. 

The  boy  learns  “  to  be  prepared.”  This  is  the  motto  of  the 
scouts.  They  are  prepared  to  take  their  proper  place  in  life,  pre¬ 
pared  to  meet  any  unusual  situation  arising  in  their  personal  or 
civic  relations.  The  scout  is  taught  to  be  courageous  and  self-sac¬ 
rificing.  Individually  he  must  do  one  good  deed  each  day.  He 


5 


is  made  to  understand  that  he  is  a  part  of  organized  society; 
that  he  owes  an  obligation  to  that  society.  Among  the  many 
activities  in  which  the  scouts  have  rendered  public  service  are 
those  for  the  protection  of  birds  and  wild  life  generally,  for 
the  conservation  of  natural  resources,  reforestation,  for  carrying  out 
the  “  Safety  first  ”  idea.  They  have  taken  part  in  campaigns  for 
church  cooperation,  in  drives  against  harmful  literature,  and  the 
promotion  of  an  interest  in  wholesome,  worth-while  reading.  In 
many  communities  they  have  cooperated  with  the  police  and  fire 
departments.  In  some  instances  they  have  studied  the  machinery 
of  government  by  temporary  and  volunteer  participation  in  the 
city  and  State  administration.  During  the  war  they  helped  in  the 
Liberty-loan  campaigns,  and  more  recently  they  have  assisted  in 
“  Get  out  the  vote  55  movements. 

All  of  this  is  exceedingly  practical.  It  provides  a  method  both 
for  the  training  of  youth  and  adapting  him  to  modern  life.  The 
age-old  principle  of  education  through  action  and  character  through 
effort  is  well  exemplified,  but  in  addition  the  very  valuable  element 
has  been  added  of  a  training  for  community  life.  It  has  been  neces¬ 
sary  for  society  to  discard  some  of  its  old  individualistic  tendencies 
and  promote  a  larger  liberty  and  a  more  abundant  life  by  cooper¬ 
ative  effort.  This  theory  has  been  developed  under  the  principle  of 
the  division  of  labor,  but  the  division  of  labor  fails  completely  if 
any  one  of  the  divisions  ceases  to  function. 

It  is  well  that  boys  should  learn  that  lesson  at  an  early  age.  Very 
soon  they  will  be  engaged  in  carrying  on  the  work  of  the  world. 
Some  will  enter  the  field  of  transportation,  some  of  banking,  some 
of  industry,  some  of  agriculture;  some  wfill  be  in  the  public  service, 
in  the  police  department,  in  the  fire  department,  in  the  Post  Office 
Department,  in  the  health  department.  The  public  welfare,  success, 
and  prosperity  of  the  Nation  will  depend  upon  the  proper  coordina¬ 
tion  of  all  these  various  efforts  and  upon  each  loyally  performing  the 
service  undertaken.  It  will  no  longer  do  for  those  who  have  assumed 
the  obligation  to  society  of  carrying  on  these  different  functions  to 
say  that  as  a  body  they  are  absolutely  free  and  independent  and 
responsible  to  no  one  but  themselves.  The  public  interest  is  greater 
than  the  interest  of  any  one  of  these  groups,  and  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  this  interest  be  made  supreme.  But  there  is  just  as 
great  a  necessity  on  the  part  of  the  public  to  see  that  each  of  these 
groups  is  justly  treated.  Otherwise,  government  and  society  will 
be  thrown  into  chaos.  On  each  one  of  us  rests  a  moral  obligation 
to  do  our  share  of  the  world’s  work.  We  have  no  right  to  refuse. 

The  training  of  the  Boy  Scouts  fits  them  to  an  early  realization 
of  this  great  principle  and  adapts  them  in  habits  and  thoughts  and 
life  to  its  observances.  We  know  too  well  what  fortune  overtakes 
those  who  attempt  to  live  in  opposition  to  these  standards.  They 
become  at  once  rightfully  and  truly  branded  as  outlaws.  Howrever 
much  they  may  boast  of  their  freedom  from  all  restraints  and  their 
disregard  of  all  conventionalities  of  society,  they  are  immediately  the 
recognized  foes  of  their  brethren.  Their  short  existence  is  lived 
under  greater  and  greater  restrictions,  in  terror  of  the  law,  in  flight 
from  arrest,  or  in  imprisonment.  Instead  of  gaining  freedom,  they 
become  the  slaves  of  their  own  evil  doing,  realizing  the  scriptural 


6 


assertion  that  they  who  sin  are  the  servants  of  sin  and  that'  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death.  The  Boy  Scout  movement  has  been  instituted 
in  order  that  the  youth,  instead  of  falling  under  the  domination  of 
habits  and  actions  that  lead  only  to  destruction,  may  come  under 
the  discipline  of  a  training  that  leads  to  eternal  life.  They  learn 
that  they  secure  freedom  and  prosperity  by  observing  the  law. 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  organizations  that  are  working  for 
good  in  our  country.  Some  of  them  have  a  racial  basis,  some  a 
denominational  basis.  All  of  them  in  their  essence  are  patriotic  and 
religious.  Their  steady  growth  and  widening  influence  go  very  far 
to  justify  our  faith  in  the  abiding  fitness  of  things.  We  can  not 
deny  that  there  are  evil  forces  all  about  us,  but  a  critical  examina¬ 
tion  of  what  is  going  on  in  the  world  can  not  fail  to  justify  the  belief 
that  wherever  these  powers  of  evil  may  be  located,  however  great 
may  be  their  apparent  extent,  they  are  not  realities,  and  somewhere 
there  is  developing  an  even  greater  power  of  good  by  which  they  will 
be  overcome. 

We  need  a  greater  faith  in  the  strength  of  right  living.  We  need 
a  greater  faith  in  the  power  of  righteousness.  These  are  the  realities 
which  do  not  pass  away.  On  these  everlasting  principles  rests  the 
movement  of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America.  It  is  one  of  the  growing 
institutions  by  which  our  country  is  working  out  the  fulfillment  of 
an  eternal  promise. 

£ 


